Monday, May 21, 2012

Our First Spring Tour Day

Hello Everyone,
     I hope you are all enjoying this beautiful long weekend. We had our first tour of the season on Friday -it was a small tour of twelve ladies from Japan. On the day of the tour I was up at the crack of dawn and watched the sunrise over our pond before getting on with my day.

My husband shot this photo from the balcony as we toured the garden and cottage.
We toured the early spring garden .
The garden is changing so quickly as already since the tour the apple trees have started to bloom-oh well,they will have to come back!
There are lots of varieties of daffodils blooming still,although already the process of deadheading the ones that are done has started.


We checked out the Gardener's Cottage where there were little squeals of delight!
And once again it was the smallest room in the house that brought on more happy squeals.
New to our tour this year is a stroll down to the pond. it was a perfect May day for our first tour of the season. We don't have any more tours until the first of June when the lilacs and early peonies will be blooming.

After the tour it is time for a relaxing moment in Martha's Garden with a cup of tea. The first tour pushes us to get the garden tidied up,the garden furniture and ornaments back out,the cottage cleaned up after the winter and the verandas set up again for summer and did I forget to mention all the pruning done on  the roses(aprox.100),hydrangeas(almost as many),clematis etc. So now that all that is almost done, we can while away the rest of the summer on the veranda with a book and lemonade! Ha!Ha! 

This is some of the blooms in the garden now.
I had to show you that the garden is not all orange and yellow!

Do you have time to watch the sunset with me?

Thank you for coming along on this our first tour day!

Take care,
Carolyn


28 comments:

Two Cottages And Tea said...

Just beautiful, Carolyn. Wish I could do the tour with you! Have a wonderful week.
Nancy

flowersandhome said...

Your garden and cottage are so beautiful. I can imagine there were quite a lot of squeals of delight.
Thanks for sharing all this beauty over and over again.
Bye,
Marian

Michele M./ Finch Rest said...

Real estate is so close together in Japan, there are so many people and it is such a small country (stunningly beautiful, but tight!)

This must have been something to witness what they must have said about your amazing wide open space.

As for your "invitation" to share with you - as long as I am able I shall ALWAYS make time to watch the sunrise and share teatime with you, dear Carolyn.

And one day - on my bucket list- I hope to have a real live tour of my very own of your gorgeous estate and give you a big hug in person!

The picture of you is so beautiful too. Your outfit fits perfectly in your world there.

Your home, gardens, everything is stunning. Let's hope the weeds keep at bay for a little while so you can rest and enjoy a job very well done. You both have earned your respite.

hand painted by cheryl said...

How pretty! You live in a dream world.I know it is a lot of work.But you must enjoy that too.

Sandi@ Rose Chintz Cottage said...

Just beautiful, Carolyn! I love the fourth photo of the cottage with the daffodils in the foreground. The last of the pond is so serene. Isn't this the perfect Victoria Day weekend? Enjoy your day.

Blessings,
Sandi

Kathy @ Creative Home Expressions said...

Beautiful, Carolyn! I'm sure I'd be squealing, too, if I was seeing all this beauty in person! I always loved the "waking up" period in my garden. The weeds didn't really take over yet. Do you have some magic spell you cast to keep the weeds at bay? They were my downfall ~ every year I dreaded weeding more and more. Here at our new place, there are just one or two that I have to bend down to pull {although, the condo lawn service is supposed to do weeding as well as cutting the lawn}.

Jacqueline~Cabin and Cottage said...

It's an enormous amount of work. I'm glad you get a chance to show off your garden. It's so nice to see the ongoing changes. I'm looking forward to a new summer season in your garden!

Susan said...

Enchanting flowers and pond, Carolyn. You are very blessed to witness such magnificence. The flute music in the background is the crowning touch. Great job! Susan

Priscilla said...

Oh, how I wish I could join those Japanese ladies. Lovely, just lovely.

Anonymous said...

AMAZING POST:) Your blog is so wonderful and I asked you a while ago if you have twitter or facebook??

If you want some décor inspiration from Sweden, check out my blog:)

Have an awesome week.

LOVE Maria at inredningsvis.se
(Sweden)

Carla said...

Lovely!

Cynthia said...

I LOVE your daffodils. How I wish ours were still blooming. Your place is beautiful.

Nette Cecilia said...

Lovley , your garden is so wonderful ,have a nice day ,Nette

Jenny said...

It's all so beautiful! Do you maintain your garden all by yourself?! What a big job.

I'm really enjoying my garden now with the asiatic lilies blooming in full force.

Judy at GoldCountryCottage said...

Carolyn: The garden is really beautiful now. The ladies from Japan must have enjoyed it so much. Can't wait to see the next round of colors..Happy Monday..Judy

A Garden of Threads said...

You have a gorgeous garden. Glad the tour was successful. Have a wonderful day:)

Pondside said...

So beautiful! I'm well aware of the amount of work necessary to bring everything to the point of readiness for a tour, and I KNOW that there will be little whiling away the afternoons on the verandas during the summer months. It is all so very lovely!

Evi said...

thank you for taking us on this magical garden tour. Your garden is stunning, and I cannot believe how much you already have accomplished.
Hopefully, you will take us again to view the garden in June.

Shabby chic Sandy said...

I would love to go on a real tour--but I love that you share in this way too:)
Everything is so beautiful!

Pamela Gordon said...

What a lot of hard work you put into your property for the tours! It must be very satisfying though to see the fruit of your labour and hear the oooh's and aaaah's from the visitors. We really enjoyed the beautiful weather this long weekend.

All Things Chic 2 said...

Oh Carolyn
Simply beautiful I would love to tour your gardens...
I will be open for business very soon...
Blessings Lori ~

Bernideen said...

Congratulations on a GREAT OPENING DAY TOUR!

Heaven's Walk said...

Simply beautiful, Carolyn! I could look at your garden photos all day long for inspiration. :) Someday....someday....I will watch the sunset with you!

xoxo laurie

Diana (Apple Pie) said...

It was a beautiful day of spring!
Here, in Italy, it'raining and spring is only a wish...
I wonder what are happening to the seasons?!

Diana

Moments of Grace said...

Oh my friend,

How I would love to have been part of the tour!! Your home and gardens are always such a joy. Thank you for sharing.

In Grace,
Marie

Unknown said...

How beautiful. A great garden for them to visit and it looked like a the weather was welcoming too.

Chari at Happy To Design said...

Hi Carolyn...

My friend, your spring gardens look sooo very beautiful! What a welcomed sight...after the long winter! Ohhh my...it sounds like you have been very busy...between working in your gardens and the tours. I would LOVE to come and tour your beautiful home and gardens. You never know...maybe some day I will get up your way. I also enjoyed the photos of the gardener's cottage...what a lovely place! Ohh yes...I could be perfectly "at home" there! Once again, thank you for sharing your lovely home and gardens with us...and those awesome photos!

I sooo enjoyed your visit and sweet note, my friend! Thank you for coming by and thank you for the well wishes!

Warmest wishes,
Chari

Angela said...

It is just so beautiful. What a labor of love. Can only imagine how serene it is alone in the garden with the sunrise and all God's creatures making their little noises. Learned something, though. Didn't know one had to deadhead daffodils. Will have to google that and begin doing the same. Enjoy your bounty of flowers.